Turncoat
by Sir Cameron Dragic
Summary: The story of a desperate mutant trying to find his place in the world and maybe some love along the way. Lance leaves the Brotherhood for the X-Men, never imagining what repercussions his decision will have on the future of both sides. To make it through high school, he'll have to figure out how to live his new life with a new roommate, and find comfort in a certain X-Man
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"You stupid stupid reptile!" Mystique screamed at Todd, striking him across the face while I watched from the doorway of the kitchen. It wasn't exactly a rare occurrence to see our "leader" take out her anger on him, although she didn't usually resort to violence. But then again, these were different circumstances.

"Actually, toads are amphibians." Todd corrected meekly, receiving a boot in his face in response. He flew back from the force of the kick, smashing into the mess of peeling paint that made up one wall of the Brotherhood House. The place was a mess, with trash strewn all over the place. I would have tried to clean up every now and then, but I knew that, living with Todd and Fred, the place would be back to the trash heap it was now within a day. Sometimes, it was better to just leave things alone.

"Like I care! You idiots made us lose our greatest weapon to Xavier and his little cult!" Mystique roared, referencing the recent turning of Rogue to the X-Geeks, which had hit all of us pretty hard. Maybe we weren't all on best terms with her, but that didn't change the fact that we all felt betrayed by her actions, most of all Mystique. I don't exactly know why, but it always felt like Mystique liked Rogue a little more than the rest of us, so it had hit her particularly hard when Rogue attacked her.

"Hey, lay off! He didn't do nothing to make her leave!" Fred protested, wincing at the savage beating Todd was receiving, something that I was tempted to do myself. Fred was a good guy, and he really cared about all of us, so I knew that seeing Todd in this state was really affecting him.

"Uh, Mystique? Aren't you being a little rough with him? I mean, I know that you're upset, but Toad didn't do anything wrong." Pietro said, somehow actually thinking of someone other than himself for once. Normally, I don't think he would have concerned himself with such an issue, but I guess even he felt at least a little sorry for the poor guy, who was now putting his hands up in an effort to shield himself, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, as I continued to watch, my fingers clenched tightly into a fist, and a scowl spread across my face.. I couldn't just stand by while my teammate was being beaten halfway to death. It was true that Toad got on my nerves sometimes. Okay, maybe it was all the time, but that didn't change the fact that he was the closest thing that I now had to family, along with the other guys in the Brotherhood. And I could not stand around while someone hurt my family.

Without any hint of hesitation, I thrust my arms forward, and immediately, the entire building rumbled as I channeled my seismic powers into a powerful shockwave that had the already decrepit building groaning under the added stress. I gritted his teeth as my eyes rolled to the back of my head and a familiar migraine screeched through my head.

"What are you doing, Alvers?" Pietro wailed, eyes on the ceiling that threatened to come down on his head at any second. He instinctively lifted a foot off of the ground, ready to take off should things get out of hand, evidently not planning on being caught in the inevitable rubble.

But I gave no response, focusing my energy on one spot of the ceiling in particular, grinning in satisfaction as I saw a crack appear in the wood. Mystique never even looked up in time to see what was going on when the ceiling finally gave way and came crashing on top of her.

"Whoa!" Toad screamed, taking advantage of the fact that fists weren't flying at him to hop out of the way of more pieces of ceiling that came tumbling down while I held out one arm, satisfied with my work.

Debris rained down on Mystique, with one particularly large piece of ceiling striking her directly and sending her to the ground, knocked out cold, while more and more ceiling raining down on her.

"Holy shit, Lance. Do you have any idea what you've just done?" Quicksilver said, frantically running a hand through his messy silver hair and pacing back and forth at a lightning quick pace.

"Um, is she alright?" Blob asked shakily, disquieted by the sight of our caretaker lying on the ground, unconscious with a nasty bruise sure to be on the way.

"She'll be fine. I didn't kill her." I muttered, clutching my head as the piercing headache finally began to fade, "Or at least, I hope I didn't." I added softly as I crossed the room to Todd, who was currently wiping some blood off of his lip.

"Are you sure that was the right thing to do? You know, Mystique's gonna be majorly pissed when she wakes, yo." Todd noted, grimacing as he tried to assess the damage to his face. He was covered from head to toe in bruises and cuts, especially his face, which looked like it had been hit by a train.

"No she won't." I replied, tapping a particularly nasty gash across Toad's forehead, causing the mutant to howl in pain. As I watched his teammate's reaction, I felt anger boil up once more at Mystique. She had gone way too far this time.

I had made my choice. I wasn't going to stand around and let my friends be abused by her, but at the same time, that left me in an awkward position. When she finally woke up again, I wasn't going to escape her wrath, and I had no doubt that she was going to beat the living hell out of me for my stunt. That is, unless I wasn't here anymore.

"Sorry to break the news, Lance, but Mystique isn't just going to forget the fact that you dropped the ceiling on her." Pietro said, finally having stopped in his panicking, although he still was ready to run at the first sign of trouble. Typical Pietro.

I stuck my hands in my pockets, feeling sorry for not intervening earlier in the beating that Toad had received. Just looking at his face sent a pang of guilt through my chest, "I meant that we wouldn't be here by the time she wakes up. I'm out of here, and you guys should think about tagging along."

"Wait, Lance, whattya sayin?" Blob asked.

"I'm saying that maybe we should go live somewhere else." I replied, to the collective shock of my teammates.

"Yo, Lance, I know that you're mad right now, but think about it. I mean, where are we even gonna go?" Toad asked.

I knew that anywhere would be better than the Brotherhood House at the moment, but the prospects of living in the streets wasn't exactly appealing either. I paused, biting my lips as I tried to think of any place where we could go. In general, the Brotherhood wasn't welcome at most places, by virtue of our normal diet of pranks and wrongdoing. But then again…there was _one_ place that I could think of. It was a long shot, but I guess it was worth a try.

Knowing just how unpopular the next words that were going to come out of my mouth would be, I scratched the back of my head awkwardly, "I was thinking that maybe…we should go talk to Xavier."

As I predicted, I was met with a set of gaping jaws.

"A-are you serious, Lance? You can't be serious! These are the X-Geeks we're talking about here!" Toad said incredulously, not believing the words that had just come out of my mouth. Believe me, I could hardly believe what I just said too.

"By the way, last time I checked, the X-Geeks don't exactly love us." Pietro added, rolling his eyes at my suggestion, "Or have you forgotten how much we fight with Summers?"

Well, I guess he had a point there. I definitely had issues with the Boy Scout with a stick up his ass, but right now, living with him was looking better than staying with Mystique. Summers might have been uptight, but at least he wouldn't beat the crap out of us randomly.

"Look, guys, I know it sounds crazy, but I doubt Xavier would turn us away if we came to him. And right now, anywhere would be better than this place." I said, hoping that they would see my logic, "Or would you rather be stuck with Mystique?"

At this, I saw Todd's body tense at the mere mention of the shapeshifter. Clearly, her attack had an effect on him, although it didn't really look like he was ready to leave her by any stretch.

"Look, guys, I can't stand watching her treat us like we're nothing. I signed up for the Brotherhood because I thought that it would change what people thought of us, so that we could be more than nothing. Don't you guys want the same? Mystique doesn't care about us. As far as she's concerned, we're just a bunch of hoods who are good at doing her grunt work. I'm not staying here and taking that, and you guys shouldn't have to either. I'm out." I said, pulling open the door and walking out onto the front lawn, feeling surprisingly free, now that I was away from _her_.

I fished my car keys out of my pockets, hopping into the front seat of my jeep and jamming them into the ignition.

"Hey! Wait up!" I looked up from the steering wheel in surprise, seeing Todd hopping towards my car, with Fred in hot pursuit, each of his massive steps causing the ground to shake.

"Lance!" Fred called out, skidding to a stop next to my jeep.

"What do you two want?" I asked, wanting to confirm their intentions. If they were planning on stopping me, that definitely wasn't happening.

"Look, we, uhh, thought about what you said…" Todd started, while Fred nodded and continued, "And you're right. We don't want to live like this anymore. We wanna be somebody."

I smiled at their words, "Well, I'm glad to hear it, guys. Hop in."

Todd enthusiastically did as he was told, literally hopping into the passenger seat while Fred gingerly climbed into the backseat, causing my jeep to creak under his weight.

"No Pietro? Well, I guess I'm not really surprised." I sighed, knowing that the speedster was infinitely more stubborn than Todd or Fred. I hadn't really expected him to be on board with my plan anyways.

I was going to make something out of myself, and that's all that mattered. I didn't have time to worry about him.

* * *

**Hopefully, you guys enjoyed the beginning of Turncoat! I found out that all of X Men Evolution was online, and I was inspired enough to come up with a story revolving around some of the members of the Brotherhood, since I never understood why they kept taking orders from Mystique when they weren't being appreciated for their work. **

**Still, I don't want to write anything that no one will read, so please, if you're interested in seeing more, let me know with a review or PM. Thanks so much for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to anyone who reviewed so far! They really made me inspired to keep going!**

* * *

Chapter 2

"X-Men, spread out!"

I silently gulped as I watched Summers direct his team, which now apparently included Rogue, who seemed a little more than surprised to see me. However, the moment quickly passed and she fell into place with the others, who seemed intent on surrounding the three of us.

"Lance? What are you doing here?" Rogue asked, "I'm not coming back to Mystique. Not after she lied to me."

"You heard her, Alvers." Summers tacked on, "Rogue's with us now, so you can just turn around. She's not coming with you."

Thanks, Boy Scout. I really needed to hear that again, as if Rogue's own explanation wasn't enough for me. You know, cause I apparently don't have ears.

"Lance, I told you that hopping the fence wasn't a good idea. Now the X-Geeks are gonna pound us for being on their front lawn." Todd whispered to me, eyes darting around in all directions as he looked for an opening to escape.

Well, I'll admit, my plan didn't seem to be working out like I had hoped for it to. First of all, Fred had a little difficulty with the whole "jumping the fence" part of the plan, which explained the mess of twisted metal that had once been the front gate of the mansion. Then, I guess we tripped some sort of alarm system, because the next thing I knew, there were lasers flying everywhere, and the X-Geeks had appeared out of nowhere, already in costume.

What, did they sleep in those things? I mean, knowing Summers, I kinda expected it from him, but even Miss Popular? Call me crazy, but I had half expected at least one person here to be normal. Just what went on in this place?

"Don't worry, Todd, I'll handle it." I whispered back, before I put up my hands in a gesture of surrender, desperately hoping that the X-Geeks would pause long enough in whatever it was that they were doing to realize that I had no intention of fighting.

"Look, Summers, that's not why we're here." I called out, "We don't want any trouble."

"And why should we believe you?" Summers replied, clearly skeptical of me, although he wasn't blasting me with his eyebeam yet, so I guess it was progress.

"Look, I'll even let Miss Popular probe my mind, or whatever, if that'll make you happy. We're not looking for a fight." I answered, realizing that our odds weren't good. Normally, I wouldn't let anyone into my head, but when we were outnumbered like this, I didn't have much of a choice. Better me than Todd or Fred, I guess. Who knows what went on in their heads? More likely than not, their thoughts would get all three of us beat up, so I decided to take one for the team.

"All right, but you asked for it." Scott conceded, nodding to the redhead, who closed her eyes and lifted a hand in my direction.

Instantly, I felt someone looking in on my mind, and I involuntarily shuddered at the sensation. I was going to be sick. It felt like someone was combing through my brain, leaving no stone unturned, and yet, it also felt strangely impersonal, as if seeing my darkest secrets wasn't enough to bring us closer together. If I didn't hate telepaths before, I certainly did now.

Thankfully, she pulled the plug, and my mind was my own again. Private, like it should be. I've always hated talking about my feelings in general, and this was taking it to another level. Something told me that telling some sob story about my past wasn't going to make me feel any better about myself, so why even bother?

"Did you get enough there?" I asked weakly, still reeling from the sensation. I rubbed at a spot on my forehead, trying to confirm that my mind was indeed my own again. This was something I never wanted to go through again, if at all possible.

"More than I wanted to see." She remarked offhandedly, before she nodded, "But he's telling the truth. They're here to speak to the Professor."

"Very good, Jean. I'll take it from here then." A British voice rang through my head, making me almost leap in surprise. This whole telepath thing was not going to be good for my health.

* * *

"So, Mr. Alvers, Mr. Dukes, and Mr. Tolansky. What brings you three to my doorstep today?" A bald man that I knew to be Professor Xavier asked from behind his desk, while I felt the boring eyes of the X-Geeks assembled behind us. All of us were crammed into the fairly roomy office, which nonetheless was not built to handle so many people at once. I guess Summers and the others didn't trust me, Fred, or Todd enough to leave us alone with Xavier, although I had a feeling that the man would be able to defend himself against all three of us at once, if he felt inclined to. There was a reason that Xavier ran this place.

"You already know, don't you? Can't you read our minds?" I asked, remembering the bone chilling sensation of a telepath crawling around in my mind, and I felt a shiver run down my spine. No matter how much I tried to forget it, the feeling still bothered me.

The man chuckled, as if I had just told some great joke, "I think both of us would prefer not to. I would much rather talk face to face."

"All right, if you insist." I said sheepishly, scratching my neck.

"I do." Xavier replied, the picture of seriousness now. Even though his words were stern, I could also feel a sense of understanding in his speech, and somehow, I felt at ease sharing our experiences with him.

"Okay." I began, "We've had some issues with the Brotherhood, and because of some circumstances, we can't go back. I honestly didn't know where else we could go to for help, except for here, since, you know, you guys took in Rogue. But I understand if you don't want us."

Xavier smiled. Was he actually…happy to hear that?

"Nonsense. We would gladly take you in, so long as you make an effort to control and harness your gifts for the collective good." He said, "Welcome to the Xavier Institute."

"Now then, Logan, would you mind showing Mr. Dukes and Mr. Tolansky to their rooms?" Xavier nodded to a stocky man, who reluctantly nodded and led the two out of the room. When I stood to follow, I was quickly rebuffed, "Mr. Alvers, a word."

Stopping in my motion, I plopped back down in my seat while the room cleared, save for me and Xavier. I noticed that Summers shot me a dirty look from behind that stupid visor of his, but the moment went as quickly as it came.

Xavier placed his hands on his desk and looked me straight in the eye, "Mr. Alvers, I know that you are viewing this decision from a personal standpoint, but I just wanted to let you know that you are going to change everything with your decision. The tide of this war we are fighting has just shifted, in no small part due to your actions today."

Digesting his words, I nodded weakly, not sure what he just meant by what he said. What war was he talking about, and what role did I have in it?

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to comprehend what he had just told me.

Xavier didn't exactly look keen on answering me, and he shook his head, "In due time, you will know, Mr. Alvers. But for now, I think you've had a long day, and you could certainly use some rest."

* * *

The burly man who Xavier had referred to earlier as Logan led me down the halls of the mansion to what I assumed to be a set of bedrooms. The man seemed just as suspicious of me as the other X-Geeks were, but at least he had the decency not to say anything about it. He stopped in front of one door in particular, testing the door handle to make sure it was unlocked, swinging it open to reveal a certain sunglasses wearing mutant.

"What are you doing here?" Summers and I asked each other at the same time as soon as our eyes met. Wait, was this what I thought it was? Because Xavier definitely had to know that I hated Summers, and vice versa, and he had to know that it would be a terrible idea to put the two of us together for any extended period of time.

"You and Rocky here are sharing a room. Professor's orders." Logan said gruffly, slamming the door closed before either of us could voice a protest, trapping me in the same room as my rival.

"This is ridiculous." I muttered as soon as the door closed, so that Logan would not hear me. Although I had only known the man for a few minutes, I could already tell that angering him would not be in the best interest for my health.

"Well, at least that's something we can agree on." Summers said reluctantly, refusing to meet my gaze. Neither of us were happy with this arrangement, but it hadn't come to blows. Or at least, not yet anyways.

"Looks like I'll have to move some of my stuff off of the bed, so you'll have somewhere to sleep." Summers continued, moving to lift a box off of a bed that was jammed into the corner of the room. It was still perfectly made underneath, confirming that no one had used it for a long time.

"I'll help." I said, picking up a box at random, inadvertently dropping a tape on the floor. Putting down the box, I knelt down beside the tape, on which was written "Jean's Mix." Moving to pick it up in interest, I was quickly cut off by Summers, who dove forward and snatched it up before I could.

"Hey, Summers, got something to hide there?" I chuckled, instantly connecting the dots. So the Boy Scout had a crush on Miss Popular. How was I not surprised by that? Although, that would probably disappoint Rogue, if she ever found out. I remember exactly how much she talked about Summers in the Brotherhood House. It was enough to make me gag.

"Shut up, Alvers." Summers muttered with bright red cheeks, clearing off the last few boxes so that I could hop onto my new bed and lie down on top of the covers, a wide grin on my face. This was way too funny. Maybe this arrangement wouldn't be so bad.

Enjoying the moment silently, I stared up at the ceiling, the realization that I was no longer in the Brotherhood finally hitting me. It felt weird knowing that there was no Mystique upstairs barking out orders, or giving Todd a verbal lashing for whatever prank he pulled that day, or maybe stressing over paying the bills once the costs of feeding Fred had become apparent, or just dealing with Pietro on a daily basis, which was enough of a challenge in of itself.

But then again, were those things that I really missed?

No. I had made my choice to actually put myself to use and do something positive. I wasn't just going to be a delinquent who just so happened to have powers. I was going to be somebody important, who had the power to change the world. And that was going to start with getting away from my past as a member of the Brotherhood. I was going nowhere with them, and I knew it.

With these thoughts comforting me, I slowly but surely fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

"Alvers!"

At the sound of my name, my eyes snapped open and I sat up, blood rushing to my head as I saw the source of the interruption to my sleep. The Boy Scout was really asking for it now.

"What the hell, Summers? It's three in the morning." I groaned, intent on going back to sleep.

"Get up, Alvers. Early morning Danger Room session." Summers said, grabbing my foot and forcibly dragging me out from underneath my covers. Was this a daily thing with the guy? Because if it was, I was seriously debating how bad it would be to go back to the Brotherhood House.

"I don't even have one of your X-Geek uniforms. So I guess I can't go today." I offered, searching to return to the comfort of my bed.

But I guess it wasn't meant to be, as I was assaulted by a black jumpsuit with a large "X" emblazoned across the torso thrown at my head. No, Summers _was _not serious about this. I would much rather go back and get my beating from Mystique than dress like Shades.

Somehow, I found myself dressed in a spare uniform that Summers just so happened to have in his room to lend to me. Luckily, we were about the same height, because it actually fit me pretty well, although I had a feeling that my comfort was the least of his concerns.

"Scott, this is early, even for you. Can't we, like, just go back to sleep?" Kitty whined, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Glad to see that I'm not the only one of the opinion that we would all be better off in bed. Maybe not everyone here was crazy.

"I'm with Kitty on this one, Scott. Is this session really necessary?" Jean added, to my silent approval.

"Well, I think that this morning will be an excellent chance for our new recruits to show us their stuff. How about it, Alvers?" Summers asked.

It was a clear challenge, and I wasn't stupid enough not to see that. I knew that he was trying provoke me, and that the smart thing would be to say no. But my stupid pride wouldn't let me answer that way.

"You're on." I growled in response, ready to shut Summers up with a killer session.

"Wait, Lance, are you sure you want to do this? Usually, only Mr. Logan goes alone, and he's got more experience than all of us combined." Kitty asked, although there was nothing she could really say to change my mind.

Summers didn't think I could handle it, and I was going to prove him wrong.

* * *

**If you guys like the direction that this story is going in, then please, let me know in a review or a PM! I originally had it planned to be Lance x Kitty and Rogue x Gambit, but actually, I feel like this story will end up naturally developing into relationships like Jean x Lance, Scott x Rogue, and a couple others which are a little more unusual for this category, but I feel like can really work in the context of this story. What do you guys think about these pairings? Please leave your thoughts and suggestions for other pairings in this story. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all of the feedback! It really means a lot to hear from all of you, and it definitely helped to motivate me to write another chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 3

"Lance? Lance?"

I groaned as I slowly woke up, confused as to why there was a female voice ringing through my head. The only person who got up at remotely the same time as me was Pietro, and he definitely didn't sound like a woman. So what was up? Maybe Rogue came back, although the voice was definitely missing her distinctive southern accent that was unmistakable. No, something was definitely off.

My head was spinning as I sat up, rubbing at the pounding in my temple that refused to stop. Funny, I didn't really remember using my powers before I went to sleep. Maybe the migraines were just becoming a regular thing now.

As I opened my eyes, I nearly leapt back in shock at the sight that greeted me.

"Miss Popular?" I exclaimed as I saw the face of one of the X-Geeks staring at me with concern in her eyes.

Finally, it hit me all at once. My fight with Mystique, my talk with Xavier, finding out that Summers was my roommate… Summers. He's the one who did this to me. He's the one who challenged me to a training session, and the reason why I was now lying in a bed in what seemed to be the infirmary, judging by the medical appliances scattered around the room.

"Jean." The girl interjected, cutting off my thoughts with her words and drawing my attention back to her appearance, which now consisted of a pale lavender shirt with a deep neckline and a pair of baggy khakis. I guess that Summers' training session was over by now.

"What?" I asked, still trying to get my bearings. My mind was still fuzzy, but at least it was starting to clear up.

"Jean. It's my name. I wasn't sure if you knew, since you're always calling me Miss Popular." She explained, cringing as she repeated my title for her. Not that I didn't know her name or anything. It was kinda hard not to hear about Jean Grey, soccer star and all around perfect student. But she did seem genuine about me knowing her name, so I decided not to mention my commentary on her fame.

"Right, Jean." I repeated, nodding along and making a mental note to call her by her name the next time I talked to her, which I assumed would be never. Girls like her didn't usually end up talking much to guys like me, and that's just the way things were. I didn't really mind anyways.

"So, are you feeling all right? You must have been hit by at least twenty lasers before we managed to shut down the Danger Room. That's rough for anyone." She asked, tapping a thin finger against my forehead, causing me to recoil and hiss at the sharp pain that accompanied her gesture.

"Well, I feel like I've been hit by a truck, but other than that, I'm fine." I replied in my usual sarcastic tone. I was just almost blasted to death, how do you think I felt? Definitely not all right, I'll tell you that much.

However, I saw Jean's lips curl downwards in a concerned frown, and instantly, I felt guilty for taking a snarky tone with her. She was just trying to be nice to me, and I knew that I shouldn't have reacted that way.

"No, really, I'm fine. Don't worry about it." I added, sighing in relief as her look of worry dissipated. It really didn't fit her.

"Well then, if you're feeling up to it, we can head to school now. Class starts in thirty minutes, and if we want to avoid traffic, we should go now." She said, tossing me my backpack, which I noticed was unusually filled with my books. I didn't really take much interest in my classes, which led to a lighter bag, but I guess Jean had other plans for me today.

"Yeah, sure, but I'm not sure if I can drive." I muttered, climbing out of bed, fully feeling the effect of that failure of a Danger Room session. My entire body burned with pain as I took a step, causing my knees to buckle and for me to almost collapse to the floor. But somehow, I found the strength to stay on my feet, or rather, Jean had found the strength to levitate me a few inches above the ground, preventing me from tipping over.

"I'll say. Why don't I drive?" Jean suggested, to which I snorted.

"What's wrong?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest, insulted by my exclamation.

"Look, I don't trust my car with just anyone. Don't take it the wrong way." I replied, starting to finally regain my strength. At least I could keep myself up on my feet when I was really trying. Maybe I could actually get through today.

Jean shrugged, "All right, then you can get a ride with Scott today. I think he'll have enough room to squeeze you in. I'll just ask Duncan to pick me up today."

Oh no. I definitely was _not_ riding with Summers. Especially after what happened this morning. As far as I was concerned, if he decided to avoid me for the rest of his life, it would be a positive thing, and I would be more than glad to indulge his request.

As Jean turned to leave the room, slinging her bag over her shoulder, I cleared my throat rather loudly, hoping to get her attention. Evidently, it worked, because she turned to me, feigned confusion on her face, clearly knowing what I was about to say. Stupid telepathy.

"Okay, maybe I can make an exception for today." I relented, not really wanting to put my precious jeep in the hands of someone who could be classified as basically a stranger, but at this point, anything was better than riding with Summers. I just hope she had some idea of what she was doing.

* * *

I yawned as I listened to Mr. Vandermeer drone on about World War II. Potsdam Conference, Yalta Conference…who the hell is supposed to care about this? Not me, that much I knew.

Absentmindedly, I began balancing a pencil on my finger, not expecting it to suddenly be lifted up and dropped onto my desk. I glanced up at the culprit, a certain redhead who was motioning for me to pay more attention.

Not really intent on listening, I nonetheless propped up my head on my arms, seemingly appeasing Jean. She turned back to her notes, furiously scribbling away everything Mr. Vandermeer said and I smiled silently as I recounted this morning.

We had pulled into Bayville High to a lot of stares and whispering. It wasn't often that school idol Jean Grey and school delinquent Lance Alvers pulled up in the same car, which naturally led to a lot of rumors, some of which got a chuckle out of me, and others…well, let me just leave it at that.

One of Jean's friends, Taryn, I think her name was, shot daggers at me, but I didn't really mind. I've been used to people doing this all my life, and it was actually funny to see a girl try to stare me down. Most girls I knew either turned the other way when they saw me, or they backed off quickly enough. At least Jean's friend was more interesting than that. I actually kinda respected her for it.

But I definitely didn't have any respect for the next guy to give me a glare, which happened to be Duncan Matthews. I don't think that it was any big secret that Duncan and I already didn't like each other. The dude was a jerk, plain and simple, and if Fred and Todd weren't going to stand up to him, then somebody had to. And besides his football buddies, most people didn't exactly take to him either, but I was one of the only people with enough balls to come out and say it to his face.

It definitely was satisfying to look at his face once he saw me getting out of my car with _his_ girlfriend. I wish I had a camera to take a picture of the occasion, but at least I had a fair share of witnesses, so it wasn't a total loss.

As the bell rang, signaling the end of fourth period and the start of lunch, I quickly shoved my books into my backpack, intent on finding Todd or Fred.

Luckily, it wasn't hard to spot Fred in a crowd, and wherever Fred was, Todd was bound to be close by.

"Yo, Lance, you feeling all right? You took a major dive out there this morning. Me and Fred just barely got there in time to see you get zapped by all those lasers." Todd said as I approached them, imitating the distinctive sound that the lasers made. I saw that a large bandage was wrapped around his forehead, indicating that Xavier had gotten him some care yesterday. It definitely didn't seem to be slowing down Todd at all, since he was his normal absentminded self.

"Well, I feel a lot better knowing that I managed to get Duncan all riled up." I laughed, to which Fred and Todd collectively smiled. None of us had any love for the guy.

Speaking of which, I barely had time to react before I was elbowed into a nearby locker by none other than Duncan Matthews himself. Although I normally would have taken a hit like that without any issue, I was still a little weak from the Danger Room session, and I crumpled to the ground amid laughter from the group of football players that was with him.

"Watch where you're going, freak." Duncan spat as he walked by, clearly still angry over the fact that I had driven to school with his girlfriend. But I wasn't just one to take out abuse like that, and I was back on my feet in seconds, one hand outstretched.

"Yeah? I'm a freak? Well, I'm a freak that's about to rock your world." I muttered, chuckling at my newest rock pun. God, I was great at those.

"Lance, stop."

I was interrupted by a firm hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Jean, along with Summers and Rogue, who looked ready to step in if I raised a finger against Miss Popular. Knowing that I couldn't cause a scene, unless I wanted to be thrown out by Xavier, I reluctantly lowered my hand, and instead, punched a nearby locker in frustration.

"Jean, what's the big deal? Did you see what they did to me?" I asked, still mad about missing an opportunity for payback.

"You're better than this, Lance." Summers cut in, "Even if he deserved it."

I arched an eyebrow, "How would you know? Weren't you the one who almost killed me this morning?" I sneered.

That seemed to shut Summers up for the time being.

"Look, Scott didn't mean to hurt you." Rogue interjected, not making any attempt to be subtle in her blind devotion to him, although it seemed like Summers was oblivious to it.

Scott scratched his neck and shook his head, "No, Rogue, he's right. I did want to hurt him, and it was wrong of me to do so. I'm sorry about this morning, Alvers."

Whoa, was Summers actually…apologizing to me? This was way beyond weird.

"Say, Summers, are you feeling all right? Because you do realize that you're talking to me, right?" I asked, not being able to resist the urge to ask. This had to be a joke, or something, because there's no way in hell that Summers would ever apologize to me, and vice versa. But I saw that he was still completely serious, and the reality that he wasn't joking around finally hit me.

"All right, Summers, I'll let him go this time, but next time he pushes me, I'm not holding back." I replied, still in a bit of a shock at the fact that Summers and I weren't arguing. Normally, I would have had some sarcastic reply ready for him, but he had me caught completely off guard with his sudden reversal of personality.

Seemingly satisfied by our words, Jean let go of my shoulder and melted away into the sea of students, leaving us alone with each other. Both of us feeling the awkwardness of the situation, Summers managed a nod in my direction, and I replied in the same way before he took the opportunity to leave with Rogue in tow.

"Dude, that was majorly weird." Todd said, "It was almost like you and Summers were friends there."

"Don't say that." I replied, feeling a chill run down my spine at the mere thought. Me and Shades being friends? Hell had a better chance of freezing over than that happening anytime soon. But I had to say, that apology had definitely taken me for a loop. I was getting another migraine just thinking about it.

"But you know, those X-Geeks have been a lot nicer to me at school today. Maybe they're not all that bad." Fred remarked, to which I found myself surprisingly agreeing with.

I mean, in all honesty, today had been the most normal day of school since I had discovered my powers. I had slept through most of my periods, but the times I had been awake, I surprisingly hadn't gotten in any sort of arguments with any of the X-Geeks, which was a miracle in itself.

"Maybe we made the right choice leaving Mystique." Todd suggested, and I wasn't going to disagree. The results seemed to be speaking for themselves.

"I hope you're right." I said, noticing the distinctive figure of Principal Darkholme watching us from across the hall, a very noticeable cast wrapped around her right arm.

* * *

"Lance, my office." Xavier's voice rang through my head as soon as I stepped through the front doors of the mansion, making my heart leap at the sudden voice in my head. Like I said, telepaths were going to be the death of me.

"Lance, how are you feeling?" Xavier asked me as I entered his office, which seemed a lot roomier now that the entire mansion wasn't crammed inside. Xavier himself was not at his desk, but instead, had his wheelchair rolled up to a window, although he turned to face me as I sat down in one of his chairs.

"Well, I'm still a little sore, but it's nothing I can't sleep off." I replied, rolling my shoulder to prove my point.

"I see. It was irresponsible of Scott to put you through such a rigorous training session on your first night here. But I'm glad to see that you are refraining from holding it against him." Xavier said, while I tilted my head in confusion. What did he mean by that?

"Jean told me about what happened between you and Mr. Matthews at school today." Xavier continued, and instantly, I understood.

"Look, I don't know what she told you, but I didn't do anything to the guy. You have to believe me." I pleaded, realizing that we were now in serious danger of being kicked out of the Institute. And from the way that Mystique had been watching us, going back to the Brotherhood wasn't presently looking like an option.

However, Xavier didn't seem mad. Actually, if anything, he seemed amused by my reaction, "Don't worry, Lance. Jean didn't have anything negative to say about your conduct. Quite the contrary, in fact. I'm glad to hear that you restrained yourself from using your powers. Self control will go a long way in helping you to learn to harness your gifts."

"Oh…thanks." I answered, surprised that he was praising me.

Xavier smiled and nodded, "Keep up the good work, Lance. I think that you'll find that small actions like that will go a long way in affecting others' opinions of you."

* * *

By the time I returned to my room, I opened the door to see Summers already there, sitting on his bed, almost as if he had been waiting for me.

"We don't need to talk about what happened today. I don't think either of us want to think about it." I muttered, tossing my backpack to the floor and placing my hands in my pockets, waiting for Summers to leave.

Summers didn't give any indication that he was going to move, "I meant what I said, you know. I am sorry about what happened earlier today. It's just that…I didn't want to think that you guys could want to join us without having some ulterior motive."

"Right, cause we're just a bunch of hoods." I interjected, knowing what route this was going down. I had been through the routine enough times to know.

Summers sighed, "Look, the Professor trusts you guys enough to let you stay in the Institute, and I trust his judgment. Plus, you haven't brought down the roof on my head yet for that Danger Room session, so I guess I can cut you a little slack. Besides, now's no time to be getting rid of our allies, no matter how unlikely they might be."

Well, for once, Shades was actually making some sense, and even though I never thought that I would do so in a million years, I nodded along to his words.

"Actually, don't tell Jean this, but I actually wouldn't mind seeing you give Duncan a little payback next time you see him." Summers said with clandestine smirk plastered on his face, and I grinned at his words.

"So, you too, huh?" I chuckled.

"More than you would believe." He replied, joining me with a grin of his own.

"Look Summers, don't take this the wrong way and think that we're friends or anything, but maybe you aren't all that bad." I said, shaking my head in disbelief.

"Same to you, Alvers." Summers replied as an awkward silence fell between us.

"Let's just not mention this again." I said after a pregnant pause, to which Summers vigorously nodded.

"Sounds good." He agreed, standing up from his chair while I turned to leave the room.

As we went our separate ways, I couldn't help but to glance at Summers one more time. Knowing that we weren't exactly enemies anymore was such a foreign feeling, but I wasn't sure that I didn't enjoy it.

What exactly was going to happen to me here?

* * *

**I'm sorry if you guys don't agree, but I personally think that Scott and Lance would actually get along pretty well if they could get past their differences. Also, I think that I'm definitely going to be leaning towards Lance being paired with Jean and Scott being paired with Rogue. Other pairings that are likely going to happen are Kitty and Kurt, as well as anything else that naturally develops out of this. **

**Actually, I am of the opinion that, without Wanda, Todd might fall for Storm, but I'm not sure right now. What do you guys think? Personally, I think it would make sense, since Todd is attracted to stronger women, but it might just be me. Also, as for the Brotherhood, I don't think much will come out of what's left, and that the Alcolytes will feature more heavily in their stead. **

**What do you guys think? Are you guys interested in the path that this is going down? Please leave your thoughts in either a review or a PM. Any and all thoughts would be appreciated!**


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